News for today's 2018

Hot Mama

3:25 AM Tukiyooo 0

Hot Mama

Yeah, Shakira had a baby here not too long ago. I'd still do things to that little hottie that are illegal in some states.

The Banks Of The Deep End

2:13 AM Tukiyooo 0

The Banks Of The Deep End

I'm feeling a little mellow and this fits my mood perfectly.

Fukushima Getting Blasted By Typhoon Man-yi,

12:49 AM Tukiyooo 0

Great.<br /><br />Now that radioactive shit is getting spread all over the fucking place at high speed.<br /><br /><br />         <a href="http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/506238/20130916/doomsday-japan-radiation-fukushima-nuclear-typhoon-man.htm">  <b> Doomsday in Japan? Radiation-Stricken Fukushima Power Plant in Direct Path of Typhoon Man-yi</b></a><br /><br /><blockquote>As if its radiation concerns aren't enough, Japan might receive another radiation leaking problem from the same crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant. Typhoon Man-yi has started battering southern Japan, and its path has been forecast to directly hit the nuclear plant.<br /><br />The typhoon, which has made landfall Monday morning in Toyohashi, Aichi prefecture, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency, is packing gusts of up to 162km/h.<br /><br />Seen moving north-northwest at a speed of 45 kilometres per hour, Typhoon Man-yi will hit southern parts of the main island Honshu on Monday morning and then forecast to head northeast towards the capital and its surrounding region by noon. When it crosses the northeast, it will surely hit the Fukushima area.<br /><br />If Typhoon Man-yi doesn't change course and pursues its known trajectory, it will unleash more contaminated water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant that could possibly seep into the groundwater.<br /><br />Public broadcaster NHK has reported that trouble from the heavy rains has reached Fukushima. One of the plant's fences have toppled over. Crews of Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) are racing against time to keep highly contaminated water in reactor basements and tunnels from overflowing.</blockquote><br />Not one single person on this whole planet could even begin to predict the after effects of a fucking typhoon blasting that already giant clusterfuck of a mess.<br /><br />You can bet your homesick ass there is going to be sanitized reports come out of the joint no matter what happens though.<br /><br />Whatever they say happened you can automatically at least double right from the get go.<br />I would imagine if they are already having trouble containing it now, when that huge amount of water gets dumped on it all at once no amount of pumping is going to keep up with it and a bunch of that shit is going to run off.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW98BS8AnOByw7LaA7Q5jLsa0S2S1O8m_Gut8gWjMI865GzBk4hjqzwKqt89IJH_euS-cfa31CdqTAR4RzfSUIAdRSW_Hj6oidxZIpgVngqTD-SVcqW7_5jCo1EQCNsq3GV6oCZRUuyMn6/s1600/00001.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW98BS8AnOByw7LaA7Q5jLsa0S2S1O8m_Gut8gWjMI865GzBk4hjqzwKqt89IJH_euS-cfa31CdqTAR4RzfSUIAdRSW_Hj6oidxZIpgVngqTD-SVcqW7_5jCo1EQCNsq3GV6oCZRUuyMn6/s640/00001.jpg" /></a><br /><br />This is a disaster on top of a disaster.

Fukushima Getting Blasted By Typhoon Man-yi,

Great. Now that radioactive shit is getting spread all over the fucking place at high speed. Doomsday in Japan? Radiation-Strick...

SchoolNet webinar recording (12/09/2013) 'Let’s create a Learnist Board' (by Fiona Beal)

12:29 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="68" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbC5q-AbtwoeSTldBEF5qs2O6Nd9nEBVfQXPWIDnka7CTlme3BhnW0SUtT8rn-GuGptiLtWVmZAe5F3vmO1ETpXKadsEN-aLle1R7uUmLKnI6YSjaxpsUY3ogiYX9LFqRD-fgdvGRWWNg/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="400" /></span></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On Thursday 12th September we held a SchoolNet webinar presented by Fiona Beal from SchoolNet entitled ‘<i>Have you discovered Learnist boards? Try creating on</i>e...’. The webinar took place at 3:30pm. Thank you to all who attended the webinar.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong>Presentation</strong></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fiona’s presentation is given below via Slideshare and you can download it if you wish to. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="356" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" mozallowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" src="http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/26223172" style="border-bottom: #ccc 0px solid; border-left: #ccc 1px solid; border-right: #ccc 1px solid; border-top: #ccc 1px solid; margin-bottom: 5px;" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="427"> </iframe><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">  </span><br /><div style="margin-bottom: 5px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><a href="https://www.slideshare.net/fionabeal/lets-create-a-learnist-board" target="_blank" title="Let's create a Learnist board">Let's create a Learnist board</a> </strong>from <strong><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/fionabeal" target="_blank">Fiona Beal</a></strong> </span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong><br /></strong></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Summary of the webinar</span></strong><br /><u><b>Name</b></u>: Have you discovered Learnist boards? Try creating one...<br /><u><b>Summary</b></u>: With the Internet being so HUGE these days educators have to become master curators of content. A Learnist Board is a really useful way to curate and keep a record of the information that you need. I love using Diigo, Pinterest and Scoopit for curation purposes, but Learnist has its own unique properties that sets it apart as a useful way of collecting the sites you want to keep<strong>.</strong></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><br /></strong></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Webinar recording</span></strong>If you wish to listen to the presentation the recording link can be found at <a href="http://meet78641452.adobeconnect.com/p9tg7wom9gp/">http://meet78641452.adobeconnect.com/p9tg7wom9gp/</a></span></div></div></div></div>

Curation tool Learnist Web tools webinars SchoolNet webinar recording (12/09/2013) 'Let’s create a Learnist Board' (by Fiona Beal)

On Thursday 12th September we held a SchoolNet webinar presented by Fiona Beal from SchoolNet entitled ‘ Have you discovered Learnist boar...

Schedule your emails using Boomerang for Gmail

10:00 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii2FMBg6vlTeVWXH8cQPMatb6-EsBw2LzOs-2TnNkEal687eIn90cFBXUzg5-3QzmVlFxfztGjuPCdAaGUOSOYHM2kA4NCOa709au2l2lAupc84cqPY4kyvgtOpvg8QozXx107v_XlK_Q/s1600-h/image%25255B3%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="143" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6keN2Qi-ydI3bmA5yrOuXHHXp2sPB1ob1WNEdC1Kgcr9DXRjO_TxH2q8niIBcwdD7dhyphenhyphenqP-HVaAsfPUDsGWA9e45mfIXbtim6_DAtZxfNp4g_eiVEqLSU-bS6lHcqXTKgS35NPFaUrOg/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="240" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Do you sometimes just feel like writing a particular email to get it done even though it is only due to be sent in a few days time? I often land up in situations like that and I have discovered a really great Chrome extension that facilitates this. It is called BOOMERANG and it works with Chrome or Firefox.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">What is Boomerang for Gmail</span></strong><br />This is a gmail inbox management tool that not only allows you to schedule the sending time of your emails but also has a number of other features:</span><br /><ul><li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With regard to scheduling your outgoing emails Schedule you can preset Boomerang from an hour to a month, and you can choose the time and date.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You can also send follow up reminders to yourself. For example you may receive n email which you only want to work with in a few days time. if you set boomeragng fr that articular time the email will appear at the top of your inbox again. </span></li><li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Boomerang can also remind you to follow up with people who haven’t responded to your email. </span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Tutorial</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/4KmsqYjB9j4" width="420"></iframe> <br /><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Limitations</span></strong><br />Since starting to write this email, <a href="http://www.boomeranggmail.com/" target="_blank">Boomerang</a> has introduced pricing and the basic free version only allows 10 messages per month sadly! However there is a 30 day free trail so I am going to try that in any case!</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>

google Web tools Schedule your emails using Boomerang for Gmail

Do you sometimes just feel like writing a particular email to get it done even though it is only due to be sent in a few days time? I often ...

Sleepy Time is a Scary Time

9:00 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal">Hola y’all! Man, I have all kinds of issues in the bedroom. I’m talking about sleeping issues you pervs! Sheesh! Anyway, every night it’s a struggle to get to sleep and often times to stay asleep. I go through periods where it takes FOREVER to get to sleep, but then I sleep just fine. Then, I go through stretches where I got straight to sleep but wake up two hours later and can’t get back to sleep. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDkUrIaU978JGDtjCa8enIDDP2m7QwlW7PPR5hFBqslL3ar_1QWia4LS0HM_atiK-CaGp5qNTJkt71wirFUKoB7dv4a-Po_2fi-PibgOa5R0W3NuX6sEIHCT853ziklDlPmqMmTsFq9mQq/s1600/Justin+Bieber+Sleeping+Hot+Nude.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="324" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDkUrIaU978JGDtjCa8enIDDP2m7QwlW7PPR5hFBqslL3ar_1QWia4LS0HM_atiK-CaGp5qNTJkt71wirFUKoB7dv4a-Po_2fi-PibgOa5R0W3NuX6sEIHCT853ziklDlPmqMmTsFq9mQq/s400/Justin+Bieber+Sleeping+Hot+Nude.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">Lately though I’ve combined those two problems. It takes me a long time to finally get to sleep and then I wake up after a couple of hours and spend the rest of the night in that weird space in between sleep and awake. It’s like I’m dreaming that I’m lying there in bed trying to sleep listening to my radio, but I’m not dreaming, it’s real. Does that make any sense? <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I’m thinking maybe I need to change up my routine. Each night at 10 pm I complain that Olbermann isn’t on ESP2 because some stupid sporting event went long. Then I turn it over to Conan and don’t laugh at whatever he’s doing. At 10:30 I turn on Arsenio Hall and spend thirty minutes wondering why his new show is so bland and boring. At 11 I check to see who is on Leno, Letterman and Kimmel while also seeing that the daily post on this blog has gone “Live” and then tweet the link to the masses. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">If nobody cool is on Leno, Letterman or Kimmel (most nights) then I either watch C.O.P.S. for a bit while monitoring Twitter or just go on to bed. Once I’m in bed the war starts. My mind starts going a million miles an hour and I can’t seem to settle it down. I start out flat on my back, then when my back stops hurting, I roll over onto my right side until my back starts to hurt again. Then I roll over onto my left side until either my back hurts again or I feel like I’m about to fall asleep. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">It’s very important for me make sure I’m NOT lying on my left side when I finally fall asleep. If I’m on my left side I will have crazy-ass dreams. Like the other night when I dreamed I was living in a trailer and was trying to go to sleep in a bed right up against a window in a small room. Just as I was about to fall asleep I saw these freaky hands pushing the window open. When I sat up and looked out the window I saw these people who looked like a cross between the Children of the Corn and Boo Radley.  *Shudder* <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">At least they were human-ish this time. I can’t even count the number of times I’ve dreamed about talking animals. I’m not talking about cool talking animals like Mr. Ed either y’all. I’m talking about snakes and other freaky animals that are saying some mean shit to me. They threaten me or tell me how much I suck and stuff like that. Never cool animals like dogs or giraffes either. It’s always a really crappy animal that talks shit to me. Weird, huh? <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5nbUJ087vtdG7-RyE_N-BBvfn91Os46Jol36ixAH92C4M37HLBQzZWfv5T7a0BYiJpUzkg62_xq2IV6Pbt5QNZ55Jh2BZSoGuzZWPOIp61st6EO_XprqmllHWNe-ILRcFCL3gc1xbcEaV/s1600/Susan+Sarandon+Cleavage+Boobs+Hot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5nbUJ087vtdG7-RyE_N-BBvfn91Os46Jol36ixAH92C4M37HLBQzZWfv5T7a0BYiJpUzkg62_xq2IV6Pbt5QNZ55Jh2BZSoGuzZWPOIp61st6EO_XprqmllHWNe-ILRcFCL3gc1xbcEaV/s1600/Susan+Sarandon+Cleavage+Boobs+Hot.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">Of course none of this would be a problem if these dreams were sexy, but they almost never are. What’s up with that? Sure, I occasionally have a hot dream starring Helen Mirren or Susan Sarandon, but very rarely. Maybe the problem is that I’m sober? Shit, I didn’t even think about that. Hmm … I think I may have solved my problem. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Never mind y’all. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="mailto:Jayman3768@gmail.com">Jayman3768@gmail.com</a><br /><a href="http://www.facebook.com/Jayman68" target="_blank">Facebook.com/Jayman68</a><br /><a href="http://www.twitter.com/jayman_iws" target="_blank">@Jayman_IWS</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">In other news "Food, Sex and Farm Animals" was an EPIC episode of IWS Radio! We took on the threat to our freedom that is the recommended serving sizes of most foods. Then we tried to call Campbell Soup and the FDA to get to the bottom of this with HILARIOUS results! Also, Brown Beasley called in and we got an AWESOME Canada Report from the lovely Jamie. You gotta check this one out!! </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="370" src="http://player.cinchcast.com/?show_id=5416457&platformId=1&assetType=single" width="400"></iframe><br /><div style="font-size: 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;"><a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/comedy">New Comedy Internet Radio</a> with <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/im-with-stupid">IWS Radio</a> on BlogTalkRadio</div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div></div>

Sleepy Time is a Scary Time

Hola y’all! Man, I have all kinds of issues in the bedroom. I’m talking about sleeping issues you pervs! Sheesh! Anyway, every night it’s a ...

Superfoods of Autumn for Weight Loss

5:15 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">There are lot of superfoods that help protect your immune system from flu and colds as well as more serious ailments like cancer, premature aging and  heart disease. Make sure you get enough of these superfoods this autumn. <br />Here are the top 5 superfoods of autumn can help keep you flu and cold free and help you for weight loss, advises you add to your diet:</span></span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img alt="Superfoods of Autumn for Weight Loss" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6xLEwLVuEI5i15yCL7gZ52edj52ozGPuSopXz-j1Ih67QNPkcfqgUXVdZh2Ix20-vt7q5o3RnF-YdUELYGVsuUpgR8QTXX3l0GjQlpqTJOcZM89ZJWfxAXU-pIY4EOOVlRv5wiOlPmXU/s1600/Superfoods+of+Autumn+for+Weight+Loss.jpg" title="Superfoods of Autumn for Weight Loss" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><center><script type="text/javascript"></script><script src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js" type="text/javascript"></script></center><br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Pumpkin: </span></b><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pumpkin, it's one of the greatest weight loss foods ever. Pumpkins are low in calories, has a mere 40 calories, also low in fat and sodium, and high in fiber. Pumpkins can keep your skin moisturised, supple and free from infections</span></div><br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Butternut Squash:</span></b><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">This is healthiest vegetables is high in beta carotene and vitamin C. Because low in calories and have dietary fiber it is directly aids in weight loss by slowing down the rate that your body absorbs glucose and sugar. You need to be familiar with how to incorporate squash into your meal plans.</span></div><br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Apples: </span></b><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">The pectin in apples can prevent your body from absorbing too much fat. Also the antioxidants in apples may help prevent metabolic syndrome, a condition marked by excess belly fat. They’re also excellent for your skin and can help you look and feel younger.<br />Study in Brazil: People who had 1 whole apple before each meal lost 30% more weight than a people who didn't eat apples.</span></div><br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Ginger:</span></b><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Ginger can be used to treat obesity, helps to boost metabolism which helps in burning the fat. َAlso produces heat in the body and dilates blood vessels. It helps your body recover from cold, throat congestion, coughs and soothe your stomach.</span></div><br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Pomegranate:</span></b><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pomegranate provides vitamin C, A and E, as well as folic acid. Also high in antioxidants, particularly polyphenols, which are believed to help fight high cholesterol. Research is showing that including pomegranates into your daily meal could play a powerful role in curbing obesity.</span></div><br /><br /></div><center> <script type="text/javascript"></script><script src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js" type="text/javascript"></script> </center></div>

autumn Superfoods Weight Loss Superfoods of Autumn for Weight Loss

There are lot of superfoods that help protect your immune system from flu and colds as well as more serious ailments like cancer, premature ...

Southern Living: '50 Fabulous Fall Decorating Ideas'

3:48 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6vmcbCediZzkFFd8U3LaStZcRl0yMarOdpXfL8a5obMaWpzzAgvyFMuqP-6ISFL2bkBppcFWJiMDApQJp7LYBtDJzxXlgRoutMTEon6IglpmQNGF-kbj4Jy0G1bODmNW10z1mjsBNg7ri/s1600/Thanksgiving+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6vmcbCediZzkFFd8U3LaStZcRl0yMarOdpXfL8a5obMaWpzzAgvyFMuqP-6ISFL2bkBppcFWJiMDApQJp7LYBtDJzxXlgRoutMTEon6IglpmQNGF-kbj4Jy0G1bODmNW10z1mjsBNg7ri/s400/Thanksgiving+3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />The first day of fall is September 22 and what better way to welcome the changing of seasons than decorating with the things that remind us of autumn? Southern Living has <a href="http://www.southernliving.com/home-garden/decorating/fall-decorating-ideas-00417000079843/page53.html">"50 Fabulous Fall Decorating Ideas"</a> to help make your home festive. <br /><br />

Southern Living: '50 Fabulous Fall Decorating Ideas'

The first day of fall is September 22 and what better way to welcome the changing of seasons than decorating with the things that remind us ...

Grand Caverns

3:47 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu6W1DeqG2sjCs3rIsw_16OCRu5-8CVdFv0hCGm4ejKNlu2ifNf6Wj8T9q4k86cEwwM6Yk1gNYpSges-G-79ynOanlY9wcLibXlFFEAx1xRvLXT6dSDKwNmmfukJfjRX-fNZPm44O_8C-Y/s1600/16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu6W1DeqG2sjCs3rIsw_16OCRu5-8CVdFv0hCGm4ejKNlu2ifNf6Wj8T9q4k86cEwwM6Yk1gNYpSges-G-79ynOanlY9wcLibXlFFEAx1xRvLXT6dSDKwNmmfukJfjRX-fNZPm44O_8C-Y/s400/16.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">South River borders <a href="http://www.grandcaverns.com/">Grand Caverns Park</a>. It's the southern fork of the Shenandoah River.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA8md8_pEourGBdNX_dJ_HVM6WVWIFDquJDNMvkT-NhZuaavN0xoF7wUc7qKhOttv6nILtvcZlUpqJlI2TgeNvUjfy5HzdR-KUirdSbhpgmdslQTdQfz4CB9_mkXcS5kc6jV8fS4HWgIfS/s1600/17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA8md8_pEourGBdNX_dJ_HVM6WVWIFDquJDNMvkT-NhZuaavN0xoF7wUc7qKhOttv6nILtvcZlUpqJlI2TgeNvUjfy5HzdR-KUirdSbhpgmdslQTdQfz4CB9_mkXcS5kc6jV8fS4HWgIfS/s400/17.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiswbzZfRIZIBGPtG-U1ODvvH2JofDKqhU-4I2lt_WzUZsaBGGDfezZd9_2v77zjiGNS9f3Tc9XJdHvRUwedMIT0OOdRUsdvyZLPYBd6UEvDxYRl0VqF6d2DUsOxGbqjJpEtJ766kck5hdB/s1600/18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiswbzZfRIZIBGPtG-U1ODvvH2JofDKqhU-4I2lt_WzUZsaBGGDfezZd9_2v77zjiGNS9f3Tc9XJdHvRUwedMIT0OOdRUsdvyZLPYBd6UEvDxYRl0VqF6d2DUsOxGbqjJpEtJ766kck5hdB/s400/18.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6KfLoON4w-4RJb5Tdvz0ObPWNKgfo28wGiplgxVZl8BhJpWs4oYNaz0XwLUEU7hxEBNhcnvPEklQmoh2-rcIklI3VytTeEEHMLN8TKVs7xwmr0oUYkVQt0tWbRDHoNXcWVjfF3_T1UkKw/s1600/19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6KfLoON4w-4RJb5Tdvz0ObPWNKgfo28wGiplgxVZl8BhJpWs4oYNaz0XwLUEU7hxEBNhcnvPEklQmoh2-rcIklI3VytTeEEHMLN8TKVs7xwmr0oUYkVQt0tWbRDHoNXcWVjfF3_T1UkKw/s400/19.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX64IzxgrP0VZY6oAkKs-T2gDwrkSG_SRj1YCJ5bfxPhSDOzdP0a99tdJQNTlaGOi_NNLal9mLwCumXMs0MFv7ZS6Fnc8YmcfWMWKMQjBHU5JbeFEPHTejfivNwPqRebNQdKCgwVlLiuyB/s1600/20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX64IzxgrP0VZY6oAkKs-T2gDwrkSG_SRj1YCJ5bfxPhSDOzdP0a99tdJQNTlaGOi_NNLal9mLwCumXMs0MFv7ZS6Fnc8YmcfWMWKMQjBHU5JbeFEPHTejfivNwPqRebNQdKCgwVlLiuyB/s400/20.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://swacgirl.blogspot.com/2013/07/jurassic-park-in-augusta-county.html">Jurassic Park at Grand Caverns?</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUYmA27NvtMz9_V-mEkPCGYZNMBmPgBapON120Undu4vgwT5wDVSNVaYiSz9RYs1_IupIb0EQZ9yals___M3Oq-Xxzpt6aSIF_RaWB6NeuyMS1_hWPfYGcSDKI2ifAlQKb7xTuFXbVF3V4/s1600/21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUYmA27NvtMz9_V-mEkPCGYZNMBmPgBapON120Undu4vgwT5wDVSNVaYiSz9RYs1_IupIb0EQZ9yals___M3Oq-Xxzpt6aSIF_RaWB6NeuyMS1_hWPfYGcSDKI2ifAlQKb7xTuFXbVF3V4/s400/21.jpg" width="321" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5NTnWUF9WkmvPFnAnxlx9dCe_UFV9XvTT2cNFfBllgxQeX__vdWMlMNLh75VTH-0T3k3XCNbUcAqRhPYoBSeuh9EEtLzCFeFtSKIZhlYH6x4LiG8zi0eahyo7G6uxwV4TnT18zrpofLyE/s1600/23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5NTnWUF9WkmvPFnAnxlx9dCe_UFV9XvTT2cNFfBllgxQeX__vdWMlMNLh75VTH-0T3k3XCNbUcAqRhPYoBSeuh9EEtLzCFeFtSKIZhlYH6x4LiG8zi0eahyo7G6uxwV4TnT18zrpofLyE/s400/23.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ15LUw444p4_BCPEnCUeMqd5wTtT1zMaeFndJYkIVk3807T8_RpTVHtW5ECv658NUYWs2guFMJa4UfEsRzWRQ9p0bZqJcgZWFPXmmZTcBKv2Qi6ifujNv2EGYjtLmNfFXe2OD6srjVH_w/s1600/24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ15LUw444p4_BCPEnCUeMqd5wTtT1zMaeFndJYkIVk3807T8_RpTVHtW5ECv658NUYWs2guFMJa4UfEsRzWRQ9p0bZqJcgZWFPXmmZTcBKv2Qi6ifujNv2EGYjtLmNfFXe2OD6srjVH_w/s400/24.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEupZGlbMNpR047FR_qngubnaqtxNVXigGL4abpSp5S982sF_GRHjYqrIuOPyAmEsuml6RQTULG2ulc5uTxftclnINGRmmNxBDovyVgRwDZZbGD8WpS0cbHt-c91Kj8vKkbi1LNH9ZlNAr/s1600/25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEupZGlbMNpR047FR_qngubnaqtxNVXigGL4abpSp5S982sF_GRHjYqrIuOPyAmEsuml6RQTULG2ulc5uTxftclnINGRmmNxBDovyVgRwDZZbGD8WpS0cbHt-c91Kj8vKkbi1LNH9ZlNAr/s400/25.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Related posts:<br />- <a href="http://swacgirl.blogspot.com/2010/06/augusta-county-gives-grand-caverns-to.html">Augusta County gives Grand Caverns to Grottoes</a><br />- <a href="http://swacgirl.blogspot.com/2010/01/shenandoahs-south-river-grand-caverns.html">Shenandoah's South River ... Grand Caverns</a><br />- <a href="http://swacgirl.blogspot.com/2012/10/october-2012-20-things-to-do-in-and.html">October 2012 ... 20 things to do in and around Staunton</a><br /><br />Photos by Lynn R. Mitchell<br />September 12, 2013

Augusta County Blue Ridge Mountains Grand Caverns Grottoes Rockingham County tourism Virginia Is For Lovers Grand Caverns

South River borders Grand Caverns Park . It's the southern fork of the Shenandoah River. Jurassic Park at Grand Caverns? Related posts: ...

What I'm reading....

3:02 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6b9JUvVLUbUO8y2D4FsK0KuYXmT_ojwax80dcVz_uBJbjWjG_ImorQ5_VUMwxIBQXL1MzQYf9ECrGR_7wPUoum8C225c1OshyphenhyphenFU0-Gv_NMFBANCAc4lFLfV_34fli-b2ea_Cp750D6iMA/s640/blogger-image-176050388.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6b9JUvVLUbUO8y2D4FsK0KuYXmT_ojwax80dcVz_uBJbjWjG_ImorQ5_VUMwxIBQXL1MzQYf9ECrGR_7wPUoum8C225c1OshyphenhyphenFU0-Gv_NMFBANCAc4lFLfV_34fli-b2ea_Cp750D6iMA/s640/blogger-image-176050388.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: large;">"And the band played on"</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: large;">An amazingly meticulously researched piece of work that outlines the spread of the AIDS virus from the late 1970's onwards.  </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: large;">Author Randy Shilts was a journalist who wrote a "Gay beat" for The San Francisco Chronicle in the eighties. Sadly he was diagnosed HIV positive in 1987 and died in 1994.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: large;">I love reading medical books and also social history topics - this is a great mix of both.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div>

What I'm reading....

"And the band played on" An amazingly meticulously researched piece of work that outlines the spread of the AIDS virus from the la...

FlightFest Dublin

2:56 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: large;">FlightFest in Dublin City</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: large;">Organized as part of The Gathering 2013 it consisted of over 30 planes doing a fly by Dublin City at 800ft.  Awesome!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyje2M_Breu4XtxTSGLTDKdFvj19tSeTBC2d0OU1e4CzKxgPhv5Ju1O2IkoP8OCrNi0zWlIbV4ZOx3WyqKcmbrLRYAErOGyhdOcER_GWrvsLcbW6cVxMwUm5Q_FAOQFG3NPv150SkI-TG0/s640/blogger-image--96425722.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyje2M_Breu4XtxTSGLTDKdFvj19tSeTBC2d0OU1e4CzKxgPhv5Ju1O2IkoP8OCrNi0zWlIbV4ZOx3WyqKcmbrLRYAErOGyhdOcER_GWrvsLcbW6cVxMwUm5Q_FAOQFG3NPv150SkI-TG0/s640/blogger-image--96425722.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdxxl3L9KCRnu5QBgGelox4sd3oXFCXgy-875leR1v_74YjAmxEhXNMhzcLTHzCnslcAnHogBKLDdlH7yh8yWpXduYYl8BK7Sve_h_o31mvUoLAlZEIhYvx2-VIMwklzhBZJOqcG0ahilA/s640/blogger-image--1105413413.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdxxl3L9KCRnu5QBgGelox4sd3oXFCXgy-875leR1v_74YjAmxEhXNMhzcLTHzCnslcAnHogBKLDdlH7yh8yWpXduYYl8BK7Sve_h_o31mvUoLAlZEIhYvx2-VIMwklzhBZJOqcG0ahilA/s640/blogger-image--1105413413.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ6t6NJglw7Iqf8-FIEiYKigMuc3lhThtEvZyzQ_V6fJfkkkVId8L5jCx-TsfF-ozhpDnTY8Nb2ySMeajzTzRzCLsB6U7CFyuu-8qhaAiqXug9m_PE6a020QXU6hCPZNKGIekoqfFDpEjr/s640/blogger-image--1561320364.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ6t6NJglw7Iqf8-FIEiYKigMuc3lhThtEvZyzQ_V6fJfkkkVId8L5jCx-TsfF-ozhpDnTY8Nb2ySMeajzTzRzCLsB6U7CFyuu-8qhaAiqXug9m_PE6a020QXU6hCPZNKGIekoqfFDpEjr/s640/blogger-image--1561320364.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxRgrpsa5PZSF3Tf9Ut8DB_n6SjOPlUxRPD6BIlynTrdd0j2z1dG9VQ5Qt52VgIOImBBgXzrwYbxHZGaDmEuXGsaU_2ikBuvgq__hxdUcVTPQn_wjn9dGQeB8j6Z_0X2gtStBYEhC2mjzu/s640/blogger-image-1954695303.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxRgrpsa5PZSF3Tf9Ut8DB_n6SjOPlUxRPD6BIlynTrdd0j2z1dG9VQ5Qt52VgIOImBBgXzrwYbxHZGaDmEuXGsaU_2ikBuvgq__hxdUcVTPQn_wjn9dGQeB8j6Z_0X2gtStBYEhC2mjzu/s640/blogger-image-1954695303.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlBi4KbMYqSPe0dj248YZ5wT5oXMO0PZehYnP6V80lijloxaoWclOX3WWL8OO2Uklk6L0Hx-ZFe6CKv4V_xQzXeUgWNY_4Gb2QaJSlSv7XuDb5xW_98wgD1umCk50bmfFLs593w_kiZ0Jc/s640/blogger-image--1936994702.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlBi4KbMYqSPe0dj248YZ5wT5oXMO0PZehYnP6V80lijloxaoWclOX3WWL8OO2Uklk6L0Hx-ZFe6CKv4V_xQzXeUgWNY_4Gb2QaJSlSv7XuDb5xW_98wgD1umCk50bmfFLs593w_kiZ0Jc/s640/blogger-image--1936994702.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWT2hVQeoRmbA7B-zfBRVxMSEL9Myi8MHW3YHWkU47z3VAJQagc1POwPVKGpsvd3PYfUGTrGVWoZmuXrn3_Y0Sc8a7Mgsug8pa3t0T0rg56BsPPX-4lVBNT0kbFa1zdNK6BAbDGDccJkAY/s640/blogger-image-901523045.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWT2hVQeoRmbA7B-zfBRVxMSEL9Myi8MHW3YHWkU47z3VAJQagc1POwPVKGpsvd3PYfUGTrGVWoZmuXrn3_Y0Sc8a7Mgsug8pa3t0T0rg56BsPPX-4lVBNT0kbFa1zdNK6BAbDGDccJkAY/s640/blogger-image-901523045.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />

FlightFest Dublin

FlightFest in Dublin City Organized as part of The Gathering 2013 it consisted of over 30 planes doing a fly by Dublin City at 800ft. Awesome!

Southern Living: '101 crisp and juicy apple recipes'

2:50 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkntGqG64jY3TVJyeofXx1V7KdX5fPRHWtABkUNjfZUcTAd1HqrzbyWKyNLBevsk1ivbqj5mPLUmJU21bShAF9obnDCeZcM1AXEUu1opVeCwh3RmnGpWUyABrmkycR19EO1gz9UGX91_5E/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkntGqG64jY3TVJyeofXx1V7KdX5fPRHWtABkUNjfZUcTAd1HqrzbyWKyNLBevsk1ivbqj5mPLUmJU21bShAF9obnDCeZcM1AXEUu1opVeCwh3RmnGpWUyABrmkycR19EO1gz9UGX91_5E/s400/1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Pies, cakes, dumplings, salad dressings, crisps, cobblers, cheesecake, muffins, tarts, bread,  applesauce, and candied apples ... they're all among <a href="http://www.southernliving.com/food/holidays-occasions/apple-recipes-00400000053069/">Southern Living's "101 Crisp and Juicy Apple Recipes."</a> It's September -- apple season -- a great time to try new recipes.<br /><br /><i>Photo by Lynn R. Mitchell</i><br />Nichols Apple Barn<br />Middletown, Va

Southern Living: '101 crisp and juicy apple recipes'

apple season home cooking Middletown Nichols Apple Barn recipes September Southern Living Virginia Is For Lovers Southern Living: '101 crisp and juicy apple recipes'

Pies, cakes, dumplings, salad dressings, crisps, cobblers, cheesecake, muffins, tarts, bread, applesauce, and candied apples ... they'r...

HISTORIC FACTS ABOUT SYRIA

1:49 PM Tukiyooo 0

<br /> <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8p5fQ5hYGZ5OeB8RhrkBDqGjy4nYwwGCQXUl3AuuXXN5PYk0M540QPeLzTcyffU3xwN_O7Rz2W1gNPdrE7HZvuTO1lhtoas6gtGdTBaALUuMKbwtZf9gsOwHcyUtqA10N_biPpHxA9urx/s1600/1_4image-large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8p5fQ5hYGZ5OeB8RhrkBDqGjy4nYwwGCQXUl3AuuXXN5PYk0M540QPeLzTcyffU3xwN_O7Rz2W1gNPdrE7HZvuTO1lhtoas6gtGdTBaALUuMKbwtZf9gsOwHcyUtqA10N_biPpHxA9urx/s320/1_4image-large.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">© MSNNews                        </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 2;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="color: #444444;">7 MOMENTS IN MODERN SYRIAN HISTORY YOU SIMPLY HAVE TO KNOW</span> </span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The war has been going on for the past two years in SYRIA. According to the United Nations, over <a href="http://www.timesofoman.com/News/Article-20325.aspx" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">100,000 people have died</span></a> in the conflict up to this point. The war, which has reached a very large scale, is at the center of current regional and world affairs. Everyone seems to have an opinion on what to do about the situation and a very specific view of the SYRIAN regime. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">However, you can only have an informed view if you look back to what forces actually shaped SYRIA'S current position in the region. Here are some key historical moments in the modern history of the country that you simply <i>must</i> be aware of:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1. 1916 — THE SYKES-PICOT AGREEMENT </span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVt3cdTlvT7HOeFcksqmhzkkGRea7SIrvUsx-Lll2wqXc4ou9NRwCf3YneFnszZboUQYjEd4d0o0mmgMGy4QvKxgvc7Xhlnic4lhtaRX-Z8jb_9iPYBOZPRX-nAXk7frXShM37NBkBquw3/s1600/1_image-large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVt3cdTlvT7HOeFcksqmhzkkGRea7SIrvUsx-Lll2wqXc4ou9NRwCf3YneFnszZboUQYjEd4d0o0mmgMGy4QvKxgvc7Xhlnic4lhtaRX-Z8jb_9iPYBOZPRX-nAXk7frXShM37NBkBquw3/s320/1_image-large.jpg" width="280" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="attribution">Via:                                         <a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bb/Sykes-Picot.svg/533px-Sykes-Picot.svg.png" target="_blank">JewishVirtualLibrary</a>                                      </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">World powers do not usually talk about the division of conquered land until it's conquered. But when they do, they make a real mess.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Until the end of World War I, SYRIA, like most Middle Eastern and North African Arab countries, was under Ottoman rule. The BRITISH and FRENCH aligned themselves with ARAB nationalists in order to bring down the "Sick Man of EUROPE." Promises made to both <a href="http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/277478/Husayn-McMahon-correspondence" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Arab leaders</span></a> and the <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/middle_east/israel_and_the_palestinians/key_documents/1682961.stm" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">World Zionist Organization</span></a> were overshadowed by a closed-door meeting between FRENCH and BRITISH diplomats Picot and Sykes, who actually partitioned the former Ottoman land between FRENCH and BRITISH influence before the conflict had even neared the end. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Modern SYRIA, as part of to-be-FRENCH-controlled territory (in blue), was created out of Greater SYRIA (the entirety of the Levant), and was to comprise a heterogeneous population within artificial boundaries.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Until this day, the same boundaries have grouped Alawites, Syrian Sunnis, Druze, Kurds, and Christians together, based on frontiers drafted decades ago at 10 Downing Street.</span><br /> <br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 3;"><br /></div><div style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; line-height: normal; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 3; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Background Information: </span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; line-height: normal; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 3; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">FRENCH MANDATE AFTER THE FIRST WORLD WAR: THE ALAWITES PETITIONED THE FRENCH FOR AN INDEPENDENT STATE</span></b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.co.at/2012/10/the-alawites-and-israel.html">http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.co.at/2012/10/the-alawites-and-israel.html</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; line-height: normal; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 3; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; line-height: normal; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 3; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">FRANCE EAGER TO ENGAGE IN SYRIA. WHY? </span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.co.at/2013/08/france-eager-to-engage-in-syra-why.html">http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.co.at/2013/08/france-eager-to-engage-in-syra-why.html</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">SYKES PICOT AGREEMENT</span></b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sykes%E2%80%93Picot_Agreement">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sykes%E2%80%93Picot_Agreement</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">FRANCES COLONIAL AMBITIONS IN SYRIA</span></b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.co.at/2012/12/frances-colonial-ambitions-in-syria.html">http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.co.at/2012/12/frances-colonial-ambitions-in-syria.html</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><span lang="ES-AR" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ansi-language: ES-AR;">SECTARIAN EQUATION </span></b></span><span lang="ES-AR" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ansi-language: ES-AR;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/10/syria-and-dogs-of-war.html"><span lang="ES-AR" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-AR;">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/10/syria-and-dogs-of-war.html</span></a></span><span lang="ES-AR" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ansi-language: ES-AR;"></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2. 1949 — USA-SPONSORED AL-ZAYIMY COUP </span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqx00fVwlVnhPp3MmYRcLQ366bIaXxOLwJy1ugto4qzn0u1psZkeBvoIRkZA7yqRgz6epSG04AFOVlj5dafttg8y3r_2UWzXNtI7BFeIG3B6avt6ac0V8TYQKC0foUEYIpPWXRbrW2sj3G/s1600/1_2image-large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqx00fVwlVnhPp3MmYRcLQ366bIaXxOLwJy1ugto4qzn0u1psZkeBvoIRkZA7yqRgz6epSG04AFOVlj5dafttg8y3r_2UWzXNtI7BFeIG3B6avt6ac0V8TYQKC0foUEYIpPWXRbrW2sj3G/s400/1_2image-large.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Via:                                         <a href="http://www.us-foreign-policy-perspective.org/index.php?id=323" target="_blank">US Foreign Policy in Perspective</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /><br />   <br /><div style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; line-height: normal; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 3; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Background Information: </span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; line-height: normal; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 3; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">SYRIAN PARLIAMENTARY OBJECTIONS NECESSITATED THE ALLEGED CIA - AIDED 1949 COUP</span></b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in;"><span lang="ES-AR" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ansi-language: ES-AR;"><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2011/12/syria-cause-and-effect.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2011/12/syria-cause-and-effect.html</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in;"><br /></div></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">After having finally achieved actual independence from the FRENCH a few years before, SYRIA became a pioneer in the ARAB world by experiencing the first coup d'etat in its modern history. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Since 1946 and the withdrawal of the FRENCH from SYRIAN shores, the army was slowly growing until it became the most prominent domestic institution. <a href="http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/tahir-square-tales-egypt/2013/jul/30/egypt-nasser-el-sissi-coup-or-revolution/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">EGYPT would soon begin to follow</span></a>the same trend.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In 1949 Zaymiy, sponsored by the Central Intelligence Agency, overthrew President Al-Quaatilii, who was exiled to EGYPT until his return later in the 50s. Al-Zaymiy's regime was to be short lived, leading to a constant and prolonged succession of regimes until the 1970s. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The coup, which failed to give the U.S. a stable ally in the Arab World, backfired, fueling anti-AMERICAN sentiment that lives on until today. Zayimy's coup is important as it ignited the eventual SYRIAN alignment with the SOVIET bloc, fostering a deep relationship with RUSSIA alive until today.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">3. 1961 — THE FAILED PROJECT OF THE UNITED ARAB REPUBLIC </span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNlJQLwUaHYKSwiGz5B3HLiMGy6OprU_r9nr66bkRvCJqImt2_r1obOMkoLeeSIRaZcS-gsF0FFEtqw0dovc5rzHuRYkJLPz5ibG8nwlc8_RrZ2IQyIjkpRUOhkXMdgmxfIPhJivAU-ZiK/s1600/1_3image-large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNlJQLwUaHYKSwiGz5B3HLiMGy6OprU_r9nr66bkRvCJqImt2_r1obOMkoLeeSIRaZcS-gsF0FFEtqw0dovc5rzHuRYkJLPz5ibG8nwlc8_RrZ2IQyIjkpRUOhkXMdgmxfIPhJivAU-ZiK/s400/1_3image-large.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="attribution">Via:                                         <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&docid=Lvfn_VoR9xplAM&tbnid=anYJWW_hTgdDyM:&ved=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Furl%3Fsa%3Di%26rct%3Dj%26q%3D%26esrc%3Ds%26source%3Dimages%26cd%3D%26docid%3DLvfn_VoR9xplAM%26tbnid%3DanYJWW_" target="_blank">AlJazeera</a>                                      </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The 1950s marked the rise of <a href="http://www.netplaces.com/middle-east-guide/egypt-heart-of-the-arab-world/nassers-pan-arabism.htm" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Arab nationalism and Pan-Arab</span></a>sentiments in the region, guided by Nasser's formidable charisma and consolidation of power in EGYPT.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This regional movement affected much of SYRIA'S structure of government, solidifying the role of the army in daily affairs and emphasizing social cohesion among Arab neighbors.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This culminated in a three-year project in 1958, the UNITED ARAB REPUBLIC. Through a series of shuttle-diplomacy meetings between Nasser and Damascus' members of parliament, EGYPT and SYRIA became one country under Cairo's control. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This proved short-lived, and relations between SYRIA and its regional neighbors never returned to be the same, along with <a href="http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/30269/fouad-ajami/the-end-of-pan-arabism" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">PAN-ARAB ideology</span></a>.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">4. 1970 — HAFEZ AL-ASSAD'S TAKEOVER OF THE BA'ATH </span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">After the long succession of legislatures, Hafez Al-Asad, minister of defense, took over SYRIA'S civil government through a bloodless coup. The "Corrective Coup" was meant to reinvigorate the political momentum of the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18582755" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Ba'ath Party</span></a> in SYRIA.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Through a series of domestic structural and judicial reforms, Hafez Al-Asad consolidated power, made the party the sole de-facto political platform in the country, and expanded the party's base.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/jordan-civil.htm" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Black September</span></a> soon followed a civil war between JORDAN'S Hashemite rulers and the PLO in an attempt to determine who would be the leader of the Palestinians in their struggle against ISRAEL. SYRIA aligned with Arafat's PLO, eventually leading to its expulsion from JORDAN and SYRIA'S complete isolation from its southern neighbor until these days.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">5. 1976 — CHANGING SIDES IN THE LEBANESE CIVIL WAR </span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvyYjnm_Etc05-TyMsNs8YqCD4NX1Nw2IcstUwvCSjAGiCrY_yzJ3cKXAKgo3a8sAm3x_7JkCdY_4x-Y_ZDsf3tyxXFGyg0qMd11kHdqGumwfAUfHDvNOzAYttZfrolc19Pcf31DfkQu0h/s1600/1_5image-large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvyYjnm_Etc05-TyMsNs8YqCD4NX1Nw2IcstUwvCSjAGiCrY_yzJ3cKXAKgo3a8sAm3x_7JkCdY_4x-Y_ZDsf3tyxXFGyg0qMd11kHdqGumwfAUfHDvNOzAYttZfrolc19Pcf31DfkQu0h/s400/1_5image-large.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Via:                                         <a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/Foxhole_-_Lebanon_-_Beirut_-_July_1958.jpg" target="_blank">WikiMedia</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Initially, in an effort to push down Islamist movements within and outside SYRIA, the Ba'ath allied with the Maronite Christian establishment in LEBANON. Originally, <a href="http://www.loc.gov/law/help/lebanon-constitutional-law.php" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">the French had established</span></a>a 6:5 Christian to Muslim and Druze ratio in LEBANON. The proportion did not reflect in any way the demographics and the constitution required the president to be Christian and the prime minister to be Muslim.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">After Islamist threats to the Ba'ath were defeated within SYRIA, Assad switched camps in LEBANON, siding with Amal, the militia of the LEBANESE Shiites. They had lost faith in the head of the opposition, Jumblatt, and showed grave tensions with the <a href="http://prrn.mcgill.ca/research/papers/khashan_9404.htm" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Palestinian community in Lebanon</span></a>. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By participating in the war, SYRIA established a prolonged relationship with militant Shiite groups in LEBANON that lives until these days, with Hezbollah. The war eventually ended with SYRIA'S occupation of LEBANON and the <a href="http://www.al-bab.com/arab/docs/lebanon/taif.htm" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Taif agreement</span></a>, which changed the LEBANESE parliamentary ratio to 1:1 and enhanced Muslim prime ministerial powers.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">6. 1980 — SIDING WITH IRAN </span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwjkpliyNbu3db8lgvvlwuOLUxJ4VV9aam_NlTYRIS9O8KPoPe_R0vBt2G7gxcz-uqOFs-8UHRB0jWJIW3-EhDcVM4PUGEseJ170mJMTzOV675eAr7T-g8QaPjGcUEAi2O6bRfFfoHOB0C/s1600/1_6image-large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwjkpliyNbu3db8lgvvlwuOLUxJ4VV9aam_NlTYRIS9O8KPoPe_R0vBt2G7gxcz-uqOFs-8UHRB0jWJIW3-EhDcVM4PUGEseJ170mJMTzOV675eAr7T-g8QaPjGcUEAi2O6bRfFfoHOB0C/s400/1_6image-large.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="attribution">Via:                                         <a href="http://www.vosizneias.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/red41.jpg" target="_blank">vosizneias.com</a>                                      </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">After a tumultuous decade in which Hafez Al-Assad had changed regional alignment with regards to the PLO, the Hashemites, and the Shiite political community, the Islamic Revolution took over IRAN and new internal Islamist movements began to rise within SYRIA.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Assads, a Alawi family, were now facing pressure to establish a stronger Shiite identity in government. While the government had previously responded with <a href="http://middleeast.about.com/od/syria/f/hama-rules.htm" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">a firm hand</span></a> to this type of influence, Assad decided to appease Shiite pressure, siding with IRAN against IRAQ'S Ba'ath in the IRAN-IRAQ war. In return, IRAN became a vehement supporter of a SYRIAN presence in Beirut, creating a Shiite crescent between Tehran, Damascus, and Hezbollah.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">7. 2005 — HARIRI'S DEATH AND SYRIA'S WITHDRAWAL FROM LEBANON </span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrbl2UB_3TWPAFztyRZsQInRBGvxzQXOMBow7dAItD-2hBDVkCX1lZ8p607fO85aaiDT3DBrpY4lXJNR7a3HQsljayzZTpPSLVn1gue7tFUur08ZxHw704bMOnwJk8jwdXpkWnfv8P4FYl/s1600/1_8image-large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrbl2UB_3TWPAFztyRZsQInRBGvxzQXOMBow7dAItD-2hBDVkCX1lZ8p607fO85aaiDT3DBrpY4lXJNR7a3HQsljayzZTpPSLVn1gue7tFUur08ZxHw704bMOnwJk8jwdXpkWnfv8P4FYl/s400/1_8image-large.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="attribution">Via:                                         <a href="http://s2.lemde.fr/image/2010/08/04/512x256/1395734_3_cf23_rafic-hariri-a-ete-assassine-en-fevrier-2005-a.jpg" target="_blank">Ya20.com</a>                                      </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In 2000, Bashar Al-Assad was literarily forced to take over the Ba'ath party, following his father Hafez Al Assad’s death. Originally Bashers’ older brother Basil Al Assad was groomed to step in the footsteps of Hafez Al Assad’s, but a fatal car accident forced Hafez Al Assad to recall Basher, the younger brother from the UK in order to prepare him for the presidency of SYRIA .</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Initially, his advent was seen as a one-time possibility for domestic reform and overture. However, this soon was proved to not be true. The SYRIAN army in fact pushed for a prolonged stay in LEBANON.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Things culminated in 2005 with Rafik Hariri's assassination. Hariri had been the president of multiple legislatures in LEBANON. Western-educated and coming from the business world, Hariri was credited with much of the post-war reconstruction of Beirut.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Hariri was <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/hardtalk/4270601.stm" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">killed by a bombing</span></a> in 2005. Allegedly, SYRIAN cells played a role in the assassination through Hezbollah. Following the bombing, international pressure for a SYRIAN withdrawal from LEBANON increased, ultimately leading to the long-awaited return of the army to Damascus' barracks. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This event, like the ones above, has been at the core of SYRIA'S long-term positioning in the region. As the current crisis in SYRIA unwinds, it is important to keep in mind why SYRIA has developed such relations with RUSSIA, IRAN, Hezbollah, LEBANON, and most of its neighboring countries. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Via Policymic</span></div>

HISTORIC FACTS ABOUT SYRIA